After playing in arguably the greatest match of all-time in last month’s Wimbledon final, the buzz surrounding the men’s draw at this year’s U.S. Open has been the possibility of yet another Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer showdown in the final here in Queens a week from Sunday.

Meanwhile, thanks in part to both the dominance of Nadal and Federer as well as their own play on the court, the top U.S. hopefuls in the men’s draw, Andy Roddick and James Blake, come into the tournament under the radar.

Roddick, who was the last player not named Federer to take home the Open title back in 2003, comes to Queens with hopes of salvaging some amount of success from what has been, to this point, a disappointing 2008. The Austin, Texas native was upset in the third round in the Australian Open, and then, after missing the French Open due to an injured right shoulder, lost in the second round at Wimbledon – the earliest exit from the All England Club in his career.

“I probably came back sooner than I should have to play Wimbledon,” Roddick said Thursday at the BNP Paribas “Taste of Tennis” event at W New York Hotel. “I was hoping to play myself into form, but that didn’t happen.”

Roddick also made headlines this summer with his decision to skip in the Olympics. He chose instead to play in tournaments in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. to help him prepare for the Open. He admitted some regrets about the decision, but also said he’d known that was going to happen when he made it.

“Basically, with the injuries, I needed matches, and I thought it was better for me to get two tournaments instead of one in Beijing,” he said. ” I went into the decision knowing there was a definite possibility that I would regret it, and I certainly did at times when I was watching the Olympics.

“You want to be a part of it … by no means was it an easy decision, but it was one that had to be made one way or the other.”

Despite coming away from the two tournaments without a win, Roddick was simply happy to arrive in New York healthy and able to practice and prepare for the Open.

“You know, this week I feel healthy and can prepare and practice, which hasn’t been that way for awhile,” he said. “I’ve been having to try and just jump into tournaments, which is tough. I’m actually glad that I had this week to kind of prepare and get ready.”

Blake, on the other hand, went to and made a lot of headlines at the Olympics, both in victory and defeat. One of the biggest moments of his career came in the quarterfinals, when the Fairfield, Conn. native knocked off Federer for the first time in nine career matches.

“It’s a great feeling to know that one, you feel like you can beat anyone in the world when you beat the No. 1 player, and who will probably go down as the greatest of all-time, so that definitely helps my confidence,” he said at Thursday’s event. “I definitely feel great about the way I’m playing going into the Open.”

In the semifinals, however, Blake made headlines again after losing to Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez in a thrilling match that concluded in a third-set tiebreak. Late in the tiebreak, Blake lost a controversial point when a ball was called out after replays showed it definitively hit Gonzalez’s racket. Blake went on to eventually lose the tiebreak, and with it the match.

Despite going on to lose the bronze medal match to Novak Djokovic, Blake was pleased with the experience of representing his country on the world stage.

“It was tough, but the experience overall was great,” he said. “To be over there and in Beijing with so many other Olympians was really exciting for me, and my first time being an Olympian, and possibly my only time, I treated it as a once in a lifetime experience that I will cherish forever.”

After reaching the quarterfinals of a Slam for the first time in over a year at the Australian Open, where he lost to Federer in straight sets, Blake was upset in the second round at both the French Open and Wimbledon. But coming off his performance in Beijing, he’s hopeful that he can use his success as a springboard to success over the next two weeks.

“My year’s been very consistent … made a ton of quarterfinals, semifinals, finals, but just haven’t quite broken through to get any wins,” he said. “I feel like I’ve put myself in position, and hopefully it’ll come at the right time for me at the U.S. Open.”